Sunday, October 14, 2007

career fair

it was great to see all the students at the career fair the other day. your attendance at these types of events shows that you love free pens and other stuff. haha. seriously, it shows that you care about your future by learning whats out there in the industry. there are many good companies in hawaii its your job to learn more about them.

but don't stop now. here is what you can do:
  • follow up with the companies you talked to. send them an electronic version of your resume, with a follow up statement thanking them for talking to you at the career fair and also mention that you would love to learn more about their company.
  • practice your job hunting skills. if you are close to graduating i hope you are ready for a real interview. if i asked you where do you see yourself in 5 years during an interview you better have a good answer. anyway, that question is a bad example. the point is that you should be an experienced interviewee. go practice. how? well, first of all, there are people in the university that can help. for example, the student employment office should have resume and interview resources that you can use. take advantage of those types of things. ask your professors, ask your mentors, ask anyone for help. my last bit of advice is go on as many interviews as you can to practice. you need to learn how to sell yourself and your skills.
  • i'm sure you all learned a lot about the companies that were at the career fair. think about what you heard. if you heard things that you weren't familiar with, then you better look them up and get familiar with them if you are interested in the company. for example, if an employer said we use the FooBar algorithm to implement BazBaz (i'm just making this up), then you better start learning about FooBar. learn about the tools, practices, systems, theory, and line of business of the companies that you are interested in. every little thing helps.
  • i've already said this, but its important. so i'll say it again. learn how to sell yourself. learn how to display your skills. learn how to show that you are the best person for the job. show it in your resume and show it in your interview. if you have to think really really hard and you can't think of one good example; then we might have a problem. be honest with yourself. if you have nothing to brag about, then i'm sorry this blog won't help you.
  • use your university education to gather skills. you have every opportunity in the world at school. you need to look for them. you need to find them on your own. no professor, no adviser, no administrator is going to hold your hand and walk you down the right path. find the path for yourself! figure it out.

    if you find the right path in school. if you figure out how to sell yourself. if you learn if you learn how write awesome resumes and learn how to be awesome in interviews. if you learn about what the company does. if you go over and beyond. if you separate yourself from the rest of your students. THEN, i know that companies will love you!
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